Publication Order of Time Of Troubles Books

Expertly written, Videssos is a fantasy story that is set in the empire of Videssos. The name also refers to the capital city of the large empire. The story explores various events that occur in this land. Spanning 12 novels, this story is set in a fictional world that is similar to the Byzantine Empire. Harry Turtledove weaves an epic plot where a republican Roman Legion is set into the realm of Videssos. The legion are unaware that their actions will set them on a path to prominence and change their lives forever. The first book in the series is known as The Misplaced Legion and was written in the year 1987. This book reveals the history of the empire. The author introduces us to a world where magic is a tool that can be used for good or evil. Moreover, the land of Videssos has its own religion.

Religion of Videssos

The people of this colorful empire believe in a pantheon of gods, worship demons and various types of spirits too. In addition to that, their form of belief is dualist. They have two main gods. One of these is Phos, the god of light and Skotos, the god of darkness. In the hearts of the people of empire of Videssos, there is an eternal struggle between Phos and Skotos. Each one struggles with who to follow but they all share the belief that only one of these gods will emerge the victor. The rivalry between these gods results in conflict between various states in and around the empire of Videssos.

The throne of Videssos

Videssos is ruled by emperors. In the second book, An Emperor for the Legion that was written in 1987, we are introduced to the ruling system of the empire. The throne of this fantastic empire is explored in the subsequent books. These are Krispos the Emperor written in 1994 and The Stolen Throne written in 1995. The author of this series of books creates a parallel between the emperors of Videssos and those of the ancient Byzantine Empire.

The author even extended the similarity between the empire of Videssos and the Byzantine empire by creating a similar political geography. The states that neighbor the empire of Videssos are similar to the ones that border the Byzantine empire. For example, in the book Makuran is a state that neighbors Videssos. It is based on Sassanid Persia. Moreover, Vaspuraka is another neighboring state in the book. This one is similar to the real life Armenia that was a neighbor of the Byzantine empire. To add to the intrigue, the author of Videssos flipped the world such that the countries we know are in the East today are in the West in the book.

There is no form of democracy in Videssos. It is a completely absolute monarchy. The emperor is the law and his word is final. He receives help in governing the empire from a host of bureaucrats. The bureaucrats meet in court in the presence of the emperor. They are extremely powerful individuals. Thus, they are capable of choosing who will be the next emperor. Their combined opinion is more powerful than that of any other organization in the empire, even the military. In the empire of Videssos, there is a constant rivalry for influence between the military and the bureaucrats. The author created a fictional fantasy world that is so much like the Byzantine empire that the political offices are similar.

Parallels between Videssos and the Byzantine Empire

The parallels between the Videssian emperors and Byzantine emperors is clearly visible. In the book series, the emperors Genesios, Anthimos II, Maniakes, Mavrikios Gavras and Krispos are all based on Byzantine emperors. Their inspirations are Phocas, Michael III, Heraclius, Romanos and Basil I. There is a class system in the books. After the royals and bureaucrats, you can find the landowners and then yeoman farmers at the lowest rung.

The cycle of books about the Videssos empire is divided into 3 phases. These are the Videssos cycle which was written in 1987 and the Tale of Krispos that was written between 1991 and 1994. The last phases is the Time of Troubles which was written between 1995 and 2005. Read on for a review of the first two books in this series.

The Misplaced Legion

This book was written in 1987 and focuses on the beginning of the tale. Right in the middle of a war, a Roman tribune known as Marcus Scaurus wielded a sword that belonged to a Druid priest. He faced a Celtic chieftain known as Viridovix. He also had a magical sword that had been made by a Druid sorcerer. The two military leaders swung at each other and the moment that the sword clashed against each other, they were immediately transported to a magical world. They could not recognize the stars and their individual states of Rome and Gaul were completely non-existent. After investigating, the two armies discovered that they were in the empire of Videssos. The Romans would soon learn that their new home was filled to the brim with magic, sorcery and challenges that they could never have imagined. Critics indicated that the book had a compelling plot that kept you turning pages. The plot is filled with adventures, magic and conspiracies on a magical level.

An Emperor for the Legion

Written in 1987, this is a sequel to the first book. Whereas the first book introduced us to the world of Videssos, this one shows us the blood and gore that the Roman legion has to go through so as to survive in their new surroundings. The emperor of Videssos falls victim to evil magic and dies. The army of Videssos immediately links his death with the appearance of the Romans. They meet in battle but the Romans are fierce and annihilate the Videssian army. They face a coward emperor who took over. He hides in the capital city of videssos. Do the Romans besiege the high walled city and take the throne of Videssos? Read the book and prepare to be fascinated beyond words.

With the latest book in the Gray Man series by Mark Greaney coming out soon, we wanted to make the very first book in the series our book of the month.

Greaney is an incredible author and if you love the "lone badass" type of books then you will LOVE the Court "Gray Man" Gentry series. Read more about it.

Featured Series

It might seem like overkill, but we're giving The Gray Man series our featured series of the month.

Honestly this is such a great series and we feel not enough people read it so we want to push it. Read more about The Gray Man series and seriously if you haven't read it - start! Amazing thrillers.

Featured Author

Mark Greaney is an incredibly talented author. Not only does he write the Gray Man series however he also writes various Jack Ryan novels. Many feel he is the best writer of them and he truly is a great author. We're happy to award our author of the month to Mark Greaney.

Did You Know…

Chuck Palahniuk was born in Pasco, Washington on February 21, 1962. Most of his childhood was spent living in a mobile home in Burbank, Washington. However, after the divorce of his parents, Palahniuk and his siblings were sent to live with their maternal grandparents on a cattle ranch in Eastern Washington State. Palahniuk’s father began a relationship with another woman whose ex-boyfriend murdered the couple.